"Everyone can win" Sentinels edge past Team Heretics in Day 2 of VCT Masters Madrid

The second game of Day 2 at VCT Masters Madrid saw Sentinels go up against Team Heretics. Both of these teams were competing on an international stage for the first time since LOCK//IN in early 2023.

The two teams came into this matchup with heavily modified rosters. This is also the first time these teams are playing against each other.

Sentinels 2-1 Team Heretics

Sentinels had a very poor start on their pick of Lotus. Team Heretics had a fantastic attacking side to end the first half 8-4. However, Sentinels managed to mount an impressive comeback. Flaunting off a near perfect half on their attack, the American squad closed out the map 13-9.

Sunset, picked by Team Heretics, again started off quite strong for the EMEA side. Winning 6 rounds right off the bat, they closed out the half at 8-4. Heretics kept the momentum going in the second half. They allowed Sentinels to win only one round, before winning the map at 13-5.

Going into Bind, Heretics again had a very strong start, managing to take the lead 6-1. But Sentinels crawled back slowly but surely to end the first half at an even 6-6. On their defense side, Sentinels looked very strong. They managed to keep Heretics at bay throughout the half, and a stand-out performance from Zekken helped them secure the map at 13-11.

Tenz raised quite a few eyebrows when he picked Gekko on Bind, including that of Team Heretics. When we asked him about this, this is what he had to say:

“We probably wouldn’t reveal anything else if we did have stuff cooking up. And the initial Gekko transition happened after LOCK//IN when we were having some difficulties dealing with certain teams in scrims or even in matches playing Gekko. And so we basically just adapted to the Gekko meta on Bind as we believe it’s really strong.”

When asked about their performance in the game, especially on map 3, the coach of Team Heretics neilzinho had a few thoughts to share.

“I think we were in complete control of the third map. We went 6-1 up. We just didn’t adapt quick enough, but that’s normal. We’re a young team, we’re going to learn a lot from this. We’ve only really played a couple of games, and it’s losses like that, that you need to progress as a team. We could’ve adapted a lot quicker on defense. But then on attack, it was a really scrappy game. They had really good ults. There was never an easy round for us. We learnt to adapt a little bit quicker. A bit more preparation from us, could always be a little bit better. We’ll go back to the drawing board and make sure we have answers. Realistically, it’s a loss that we will grow from. So, only positives in mind.”

Onto the next round

In the next round of the tournament, Heretics is up against PRX in the Low matches of Round 2. Each team will be fighting to stay alive in Masters Madrid.

When asked about their thoughts on their next matchup against PRX, neilzinho replied:

“I don’t really care who we play against, to be honest. We’re one of the best prepared teams here. I think we should’ve beat [Sentinels], to be honest. So we’re going to go in with the same confidence, same fundamentals. We’re not going to change anything for who we play. And I think we match up really well against them. So, there’s no specific game plan against them.

Asking his thoughts on how close their matchup was against Heretics, and how Sentinels plan to improve for future games, coach Kaplan had some things to say.

“Hopefully, you’re going to see less fundamental mistakes from us tomorrow. I don’t know if it was nerves or exhaustion, or anything. Probably a combination. It’s hard to get used to playing on a Masters stage. And it’s not just the stage. It’s a different venue, different timing of the matches, a little bit of jetlag. I think we’ll clean up a lot on a basic level.

I also think this tournament is about anti [strating] because you have a bunch of teams coming in from their Kickoff tournaments with very little time to turn around all their maps and strategies. On my end, when we anti teams and have specific plans around that, we can be more detailed in how we plan to execute them, make sure we’re a little bit more prepared on that.

I think we were in the right direction on some of that, but we could’ve done it cleaner. And that’s completely on me. I think we can all walk away and learn stuff. I think we’re going to be much better tomorrow.”

Finally, coincidentally, there is one team from each region in the High and Low rounds in the Swiss bracket. johnqt chose to impart some of his thoughts on this split.

“I think in general, this tournament is very stacked. Since this is the first time where every region sent their top two teams. And right now how the meta is, and the start of the year, every team is very close. And at the same time, every team is trying to find their identity, and what works and what doesn’t.

So, I think this is one of the most open tournaments. Where you can really go in the tournament and get a proper top 3. I feel like anyone can win on their day. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the semifinals, it’s four teams from four different regions. It’s how close this tournament is. In general Valorant is not very top heavy. Everyone can win.

You can follow Valorant Champions Tour X (formerly Twitter) for all updates on the upcoming fixture. You can also follow Strafe for upcoming fixtures, press conference coverage, and more.

Follow Strafe Esports on YouTube for all the upcoming VALORANT Masters Madrid Press conferences.

Featured Image Source: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

Read More:

"If we start well, nothing is hard for us" EDG take down PRX in Day 2 of VCT Masters Madrid

"I don't think we were surprised at all" Gen.G Upsets LOUD at VALORANT Masters Madrid Opening Game

"If they are here, they deserve to play" Karmine Corp take down FunPlus Phoenix at VALORANT Masters Madrid Day 1